Louis Stewart (guitarist)

Louis Stewart (5 January 1944 – 20 August 2016)[1] was an Irish jazz guitarist.

Louis Stewart
Background information
Born(1944-01-05)5 January 1944
Waterford, Ireland
Died(2016-08-20)20 August 2016
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsGuitar

Life and career

Born in Waterford, Ireland, Stewart grew up in Dublin. He began playing guitar when he was thirteen, influenced by guitarists Les Paul and Barney Kessel. Stewart began his professional career performing in Dublin showbands. In 1968 he won an award as the most outstanding soloist at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Soon after, he spent three years with Benny Goodman.[2]

Stewart recorded his debut album, Louis the First in Dublin, and then recorded in London with Billy Higgins, Peter Ind, Sam Jones, Red Mitchell, and Spike Robinson. From the mid to late 1970s he worked with George Shearing, touring America, Brazil, and playing European festivals, and recording eight albums, including several for the MPS label in a virtuosic trio with Shearing and the great Danish bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen. Louis has also appeared on albums by Joe Williams and J. J. Johnson, and worked with many of the greatest names in jazz. The best Jazz musician he played with was, of course, Tubby Hayes.

In 1981, ahead of his debut in the U.S. as a leader, The New York Times stated, "Mr. Stewart seems to have his musical roots in bebop. He leans toward material associated with Charlie Parker and he spins out single-note lines that flow with an unhurried grace, colored by sudden bright, lively chorded phrases. His up-tempo virtuosity is balanced by a laid-back approach to ballads, which catches the mood of the piece without sacrificing the rhythmic emphasis that keeps it moving."[3]

Stewart was prominently featured in Norman Mongan's important book "The History Of The Guitar In Jazz" (1983; Oak Publications) in a chapter devoted to guitarists who were considered to be contemporary masters (along with players like Jim Hall, Pat Martino, and George Benson). In a review of Stewart's tour de force live album Overdrive (Hep, 1993), AllMusic stated, "Louis Stewart is one of the all-time greats, and it is obvious from the first notes he plays on any occasion".[4]

Stewart received an honorary doctorate from Trinity College, Dublin, in 1998.[5] In 2009, he was elected to Aosdána, an Irish affiliation of people engaged in literature, music, and visual arts that was established by the Irish Arts Council in 1981 to honour those whose work has made an outstanding contribution to the creative arts in Ireland.

Discography

As leader
  • Louis the First (Hawk, 1975)
  • Baubles, Bangles and Beads with Peter Ind (Wave, 1975)
  • Out on His Own (Livia, 1976)
  • Milesian Source (Pye, 1977)
  • Drums And Friends (Livia, 1978)
  • Alone Together with Brian Dunning (Livia, 1979)
  • I Thought About You (Livia, 1979)
  • Acoustic Guitar Duets (Super Sessions) with Martin Taylor (Jardis, 1985)
  • Good News (Villa, 1986)
  • String Time (Villa, 1988/1990)
  • Serious Jazz (Livia, 1989)
  • Winter Song with Heiner Franz (Jardis, 1990)
  • In a Mellow Tone with Heiner Franz (Jardis, 1992)
  • Louis Stewart Quartet (feat. Michael Moore) (Cecilia, 1992)
  • Joycenotes (Villa, 1993)
  • Overdrive (Hep, 1993)
  • I Wished On the Moon with Heiner Franz (Jardis, 1999)
  • GIFT(w/Bill Charlap) (Ashbrown, 2000)
  • Street of Dreams with Heiner Franz (Jardis, 2001)
  • Road Song (Villa, 2002?)
  • Core Business with Egil Kapstad, Terje Venaas, Eyvind Olsen (Villa, 2004)
  • Angel Eyes (Blau, 2006)
  • You've Changed w/Frank Harrison Trio (Desert Island, 2007)
  • Tunes (Beechpark, 2013)
  • Live in London (Blau, 2016)

As sideman

With Tubby Hayes (1968–69)

  • England's Late Jazz Great (IAJRC, released 1987)
  • 200% Proof (Master Mix, released 1992)
  • Rumpus Savage (Solweig, released 2015)
  • The Syndicate: Live at the Hopbine 1968 Vol.1 (Gearbox, released 2015)
  • Grits, Beans and Greens (Fontana, released 2019)

With George Shearing

  • Windows (MPS, 1977)
  • 500 Miles High (MPS, 1977)
  • Getting in the Swing of Things (MPS, 1979)
  • On Target (MPS, 1980)
  • How Beautiful Is Night (Telarc, 1992)
  • That Shearing Sound (Telarc, 1994)
  • Paper Moon (Telarc, 1995)

With others

References
  1. Irish jazz musician Louis Stewart dies aged 72
  2. Yanow, Scott (2013). The Great Jazz Guitarists. San Francisco: Backbeat. p. 188. ISBN 978-1-61713-023-6.
  3. "Jazz: Louis Stewart From Dublin". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  4. "Overdrive: Live at the Tron". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  5. "Louis Stewart Biography". All Music. Retrieved 3 March 2014.

Sources
  • Feather/Gitler, Encyclopedia of Jazz, Oxford University Press
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